Gaara's Story
by Infectious.Dreams
Summary: This is the story of Sabaku no Gaara. How things would have turned out if only he had someone to love, and someone to love him back.
1. Chapter 1 : The Beginning

I still remember that fateful day when I met her. She cured my pained heart and left me with memories that I wouldn't want to lose.

The sky was gray as I was sitting alone on the swing, swinging back and forth back and forth to the sound of the pattering feet of the children playing soccer. I was left alone though, not wanted in the game. So I held on tight to the bear I was holding, and pushed myself softly, back and forth. Back and forth.

The wind began to push harder now, and I heard the sad cries of the other children's voices against the wind, "What should we do? We can't use the wall climbing technique yet."

I lifted myself from the swing and stood up, the sand came out and the ball was lifted down from the cliff.

"You're..." they began to say.

I looked at them, and then back down at my feet, I was scared.

"Here..." I said, holding the soccer ball towards them.

"It's Gaara...Gaara of the Sand," one of the boys said with eyes widened in fear.

"Run!" another shouted and began running from me.

The pain in my heart grew deeper and harder to bear as I saw them run from me.

"Wait! Don't leave me alone!" I cried out.

Then it happened, the sand I was desperately trying not to use came out again. This time it held two children and dragged them towards me. **I don't want to be alone anymore.** I was getting angry and the sand tightened its grasp on their ankle. As it closed in to attack the girl, Yashamaru stepped in and stopped it.

"Gaara-sama, please calm down," he said to me.

I hung my head in shame and saw what I had just done. Four children were lying on the ground, unmoving and the girl was shaking in fear. The wind began to blow again, and I let the coldness sweep around me, it felt good to feel something, even if it was just the wind.

As Yashamaru and everyone were sent to be treated, I went back to the swings and sat down again, swinging back and forth to the beat of my own heart. It was getting dark and as I sat there still swinging, _she_came to me, shaking at first, but looking bold. I took a glance at her and sighed.

"Don't come near me, I might hurt you," I warned her.

"I'm sorry they made you mad," she said, ignoring what I just said.

I looked up at her this time but couldn't see her face, just the shadows. The sun had set now. Standing up, I noticed she didn't back away or stare in fright and had ceased shaking.

"My name is..." she began to say, but I cut her off.

"You're not frightened by me?"

She shook her head.

"I have to go eat dinner now, good-bye Gaara. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that said, she ran off and I stood there staring at her back and her hair that flung wildly whenever she took a step. My heart raced, _someone in this world isn't afraid of me!_I thought as I ran to where Yashamaru had been taken to. I was taken to Yashamaru's room to wait for him and I saw the picture of my mother, she was young and beautiful. But she had died giving birth to me, that troubled me greatly that I had killed my own mother, but I couldn't change the past.

Taking hold of a dagger, I tried to pierce myself, wanting to feel what pain was like. But each time I was about to cut myself, the sand came between my and the metal, each time blocking it. Just when I was about to try again, Yashamaru came into the room and scolded me. We had a long talk about pain and love. Yashamaru told me that love could heal the pain in my heart, just like how medicine can heal physical pain. I was determined to get love even though I didn't fully understand what it was; I wanted it to make the pain in my heart stop.

The next hour, I ran down the quiet street to the boy's house that I had hurt. I wanted to help him stop the pain I had caused him, but when I held up the bag and he saw me, he looked at me with disgust and hatred.

"You monster..." he shouted as he slammed the door in my face.

My plan of easing someone else's pain had failed and I trudged to the top of a building and sat at the edge of it. Scolding myself about what Yashamaru had said. Just as I was about to get up, someone attacked me, but thankfully, the sand protected me.

Anger built up in me again and I hit my assassin. When I uncloaked him, I fell to my knees. Tears began pouring out of my eyes, "Yashamaru…"


	2. Chapter 2 : The Meeting

"Yashamaru..." I cried. Everything he had told me a few hours ago came rushing into my head, _I though I was close and important to you…_

I groped at my heart, oh how I wanted to tear it out right then. The pain came back along with loneliness. My scream pierced through the eerie night but I didn't care, I have felt too much pain. Sand flew wildly around me and enclosed me within it, slowly the tiny particles fell to the ground and I stood up. The tattoo of "Love" stood out against my pale skin and I swore to myself that I would only love myself and find my existence by killing them, the ones that hate me, humans. Hatred flowed through my veins, the need to kill suddenly came to me and I invited the feeling in.

Slowly, I made my way towards the swings again. I stayed there all night; it wasn't a change in my daily routine, not like I could sleep anyways. The fear of Shukaku coming out was strong and I didn't want to risk the chance of losing myself to it. I just sat there crying and cursing my father, my mother, Yashamaru.

The girl came when the sun rose, I sat on the swing looking at her through my cold eyes that will no longer shed anymore tears. Instead of backing away though, she came forward and touched my hand. I winced and drew back but she didn't. Letting her hand drop down to her side, she sat down on the desert sand and kept quiet. We sat in silence until the sun rose to the middle of the sky, and I sat there still wondering why she really came.

"Why did you come. Aren't you afraid of me." I stated more then asked.

Shaking her head, she went back to staring at the ground, avoiding my gaze. Finally, after a long moment of silence, she answered me.

"I came because I wanted to be your friend Gaara-kun."

My head shot up and looked at her, studying her. _Is she another assassin that has been ordered to kill me?_

I stood up swiftly and had her pinned against the ground.

"Who sent you?" I asked harshly.

She didn't struggle, terror flashed through her eyes then it was instantly gone.

"I wasn't sent by anyone. Like I said before, I want to be your friend."

It was the truth, I could tell by her eyes. She was defiant, and from the way she looked back at me, she was way more mature than a 6 year old should be. I realized I still had her pinned down with my sand and quickly let her go. To my surprise, she didn't run away, she just dusted herself off and stared at me with her emerald eyes. Her silver hair blew wildly around her and she turned to face the village.

"Even if they're scared of you, I'm not. Will you be my friend Gaara-kun?" she asked me boldly.


	3. Chapter 3 : Knowing

Ariel speaking :: Hello everyone! I'm sorry for not posting up anything for almost a year. I lost everything I wrote and just couldn't write after that. But then after reading everyone's review I felt very happy and started again. This chapter is very...very short but I promise the next one will be longer.

---------------------------------------------------------

I spent the remainder of the day with her, sitting on the swings quietly while she talked. When the sun rose high in the sky, she still sat with me, even though I told her to go home. Then night fell and I didn't let her have another word and ordered her to go back to the village. Even staying out of the wall was dangerous.

She finally did go home, but after promising me that she would be back tomorrow. I couldn't help but feel a faint smile tug on my lips. As I watched her retreating back, I saw her shadow. It stayed with her no matter what and I vowed that I would do that for her too. I would...be her second shadow and never leave her.

It was the first time in my life that I felt at peace. Even after Yashamaru's attack just the night before faded from my thoughts. Only her name lingered in my head.

Aiko, the kanji characters for "love" and "child," meaning "a person who loves others."

How fitting her name is.

Just saying it made my heart light and beat faster.

First time ever, my six year old heart felt something other fright and angst.


	4. Dear Readers

Dear readers of Gaara's Story~

I am so so so sorry for disappearing all of a sudden and not writing anymore chapters.

It's been 3 years since I last visited this site and I forgot about this until I looked through my emails and saw the reviews left for this story and because of them, I will complete this story. No matter how long it will take. Please bear with me if it takes another year or so but…I have lost track of everything that has happened in Naruto and the rest on will not be based from the manga or anime at all.

Entire new way for this story.

I'm truly sorry if you guys wanted the story to go along with the manga or anime but I just haven't watched it at all so I am completely lost.

The fourth chapter should be out within this week. Hopefully. And if I disappear again (which I shouldn't) please e-mail me or something! And another reason for my return is because it is summer and I have no job or summer school this summer. It is also because I'm sick and can't really do anything except stay home. The only time I will probably disappear is if I'm super sick again.

I hope you guys are still reading this!

Sincerely,

Ariel


	5. Chapter 4 : Control

Gentle.

I could feel the butterfly rest on the tip of nose. The urge to sneeze quickly followed when the little critter started to slowly flap its wings. I sneezed loudly and the butterfly quickly took flight.

"Are you sick?" Aiko asked, the wind carrying her voice.

She was making her way across playground towards me and sat beside me. We both were silent for while. I was content just sitting beside her. I would be content to just sit beside her the rest of my life. This feeling of peace always followed Aiko around, and when I was near her, it would settle in my heart.

We were outside the city walls, as we usually are. Not too far though.

"Ne…Gaara…" her voice was like a whisper.

She rarely called me without honorifics, only when she was worried or embarrassed.

I sat up and looked at the girl beside me. One year has passed since she first spoke to me, yet each time I see her it feels as if it was our first encounter. I believe her first words to me will always play in my head, over and over.

**I want to be your friend Gaara-kun****. **Again and again.

"Gaara-kun?" her voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Aiko it's your birthday soon," I say.

I guess that what she wanted to say involved her birthday by her reaction. I could tell she was surprised by the way her left eyebrow rose slightly for a slight second. Her cute smile followed suit and was it…shyness I detect? Her fingers twiddled around each other and for a moment, I wondered how her hand would feel in mine.

"Yes it is. I'm turning 7!" her voice broke me out of my thoughts.

I smiled. She smiled back at me, obviously really happy that I was smiling. Even after she became my friend, I still felt lonely and rarely smiled. Yashamaru's death still haunts me and whenever I close my eyes I can see his face. The loving face that I grew up looking at. But, right before I killed him, his face was distorted with anger and disgust, at me.

Me. Monster.

My smile faltered. She noticed and put a hand on my shoulder. I am greedy though, I wished for an embrace, not just her comforting hand. But, she was here and I need not think of the past. My smile returned.

The sun moved quickly across the sky as we made small talk. The moon rose. It was night, my favorite time of the day. Everything, especially the city was quiet during the hours of the moon. Everyone was in the safety of their homes, sound asleep. Only the faint sound of the patrols footsteps and whispers can be heard.

They guard the city walls, watching and listening for any signs of danger from the other villages. Other dangers also lurk around, but most of the threat was from the other villages. Even though it seemed like all the villages were on friendly terms, there has been stray ninjas found trying to stir trouble in the Sand Village and I disliked all of the villages out there.

"It is late Aiko. You should return home," I tell her, or more like ordered her to.

Even though I enjoy her presence, I've never really shown it to her. There was a fear deep down in me that if I ever confided everything to her and poured all my feelings out, she would abandon me. Like everyone else has. Leave me all alone again, for the rest of my life.

Without a word she nodded and pulled herself up away from my side. The wind blew then and I could feel a chill in my spine. My thoughts were elsewhere when I grabbed a hold of hand without myself knowing. I heard a soft gasp escape her lips.

Before she could ask what was wrong I pulled her back down and something flew past where her head had been seconds ago. My instincts kicked in and sand escaped the jar that was quickly pulled onto my back.

Under the moonlight I tried to find the attacker that had tried to assassinate my Aiko. Minutes passed but it was quiet again. I felt no signs of the attacker. Yet, my heart was still thumping loudly in my chest, adrenaline rushed in my veins as I continued to try and find him. Or her.

I was enraged. Who would do this. I yelled, my voice filled the night air and most likely reached the village. I saw light appearing out of the dark houses.

A hand reached for my face. I snapped out of it. Aiko pulled my face towards her and my forehead rested on her forehead. Breathing heavily I looked into her dark brown eyes that appeared black in the dim light of the moon. The instant she touched me I felt my anger diminishing, but it left a deep feeling of fear. This attack would not be the last, and I was sure it was not the first.

She had most likely been attacked before but never told me. That was how she stayed so calm when others would have been a pathetic pile of trembling bones. It was then that the fear was replaced by regret. Had I not ever allowed her to be my friend, she would be safe.

"It is not your fault Gaara-kun." Her voice was barely above a calm whisper.

Her hand still held my face. Then, she hugged me. I could smell the light scent of gardenias in her hair. She held me tight and I could feel her heart beating in her small chest. My hands stay limp at my side. I was shocked.

Whatever she was trying to do worked since I felt nothing but surprise at her bold action.

"Walk me home.." she said.

Now she was the one to order me around. Now she had absolute control over me. Control over my person, my mind, my actions, and my heart.

* * *

Authors note: Hello everyone! I have finally released chapter 4 of Gaara's Story and couldn't be more excited and proud. It's been a while since I last wrote anything (except essays) and it feels so good to write again. Hopefully the writers block doesn't settle in anytime soon. I am thinking that chapter 5 will be up before the 23rd? Yes? I will work hard to post it up by next Wednesday! Thanks for reading :)


End file.
